Developments in Albania in 1999 were determined by the war in neighbouring Kosovo. During the 78 days of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia from March until June, about 450,000 of the total 750,000 Kosovar refugees expelled by Yugoslav forces fled into Albania. That figure was equal to almost 15% of Albania’s total population. The hostilities turned Albania into a key operational theatre for international relief agencies and NATO forces in Albania, called KFOR, which launched a humanitarian relief operation. In addition, within the framework of the NATO air campaign, U.S. forces deployed 24 Apache antitank helicopters and long-range artillery pieces in northern Albania.

The northern Albanian border regions of Kukës and Tropojë bore the brunt of the refugee influx and military operations. Supplying the refugees and transporting them to other parts of the country created immense logistic difficulties for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other relief agencies. The region also saw ongoing border clashes between Yugoslav forces, who continually shelled Albanian border villages, and Kosovo Liberation Army fighters operating in part from support bases inside Albania. The border area remained heavily mined after the fighting subsided.

The arrival of NATO troops in Kosovo on June 12 and the end of the fighting paved the way for the return of the opposition Democratic Party (PDS) to Albanian political life after 10 months of boycotting of the People’s Assembly. (The party began a sustained boycott after a PDS delegate, Azem Hajdari, was killed in September 1998.) At an extraordinary party congress in Tiranë on July 17, PDS leader Sali Berisha declared that its return was a gesture of gratitude to the U.S. for its engagement on behalf of the Kosovars. Until that time the PDS had been strongly under the control of Berisha, but late in the year the reformists in the PDS openly clashed with Berisha’s supporters over party strategy. The reformers argued that the parliamentary boycott was leading to political isolation of the party. Similarly, in the governing Socialist Party, former prime minister Fatos Nano won the party leadership from Prime Minister Pandeli Majko. Majko subsequently resigned as prime minister and was replaced by the former deputy prime minister, Ilir Meta. On September 15 Nano accused Majko of having allowed Kosovar guerrillas to smuggle arms through Albanian territory.

A measure of normalcy descended on civilian life in the north as well. Newly appointed Interior Minister Spartak Poci managed to break up 12 criminal gangs throughout the country, most notably those in Tropojë, where special police units restored order in September. Because of frequent armed robberies, Tropojë earlier had been a “no-go” area for international aid agencies. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe closed its office there on June 16 after gunmen killed two of its local staff.

With the end of the fighting in Kosovo, Albania’s relations improved with its neighbours—Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece, and the new UN administration in Kosovo, with whom the Albanian Foreign Ministry planned a series of joint regional development projects within the framework of the European Union–funded Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe. Early accomplishments included the installation of a powerful microwave-telephone connection between Albania and Kosovo and the signing of infrastructure development projects with Montenegro.